Streetlights could be on 'all night at full brightness'

A town's streetlights could be on "all night and at full brightness" from the autumn, a council boss said.

The Labour leader of Basildon Council, Gavin Callaghan, told a full council meeting residents had "frequent concerns" about streetlights since they were cut back to part-night lighting by Essex County Council in 2023.

He said the authority would work with the county council.

A county council spokesperson said it was yet to receive a "formal request" on the matter.

"One of the frequent concerns from residents is street lighting, so we will work with Essex County Council to turn the streetlights back on across our borough," Callaghan told the meeting.

"We will work to ensure they will be on all night and at full brightness from the autumn of this year."

Former Labour councillor and Laindon resident Pat Rackley agreed it was a "big problem", reported the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"I think it can be done and does need a bit of determination," she said.

Lights in the borough are switched off overnight, with the exception of some areas deemed at higher risk of crime, or where the county council has a statutory requirement to provide lighting.

Part-night lights are switched off between 01:00 and 05:00 from Tuesday to Sunday, and midnight to 05:00 on Mondays mornings.

"We work closely with Basildon Council on a range of highways and lighting matters, however we're not aware of any formal request to return streetlights in Basildon to full brightness," Essex Highways said.

"We encourage residents to report any issues with streetlighting through our online Tell Us tool at www.essexhighways.org/tell-us."

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